Device for applying coatings to electric conductors



May 1, 1934. I A. P. HINSKY DEVICE FOR APPLYING COATINGS To ELECTRICCONDUCTORS Filed Dec. '9, 1932 4 l I "I L I ll? 21 25 INVENTOR.

Patented May 1, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFEE DEVICE FOR APPLYINGCOATINGS TO ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS Application December 9,1932, Serial No.646,416

16 Claims.

This invention relates to mold and centering devices used in applyingeven thickness coatings on elongated strands such as insulatedconductors; and the object of the invention is to provide a device ofthe class described employing radially adjustable jaw members, the innerends of which intermesh or have tongue and groove connections with eachother to form between the inner ends of said jaws mold chambers orpassages of predetermined cross sectional contour; a further objectbeing to provide the inner ends of said jaw members with radiallyarranged fins or blades, the inner ends of which normally project beyondthe inner ends of the jaw memers or into the passage formed between thejaw members so as to form centering fingers or fins for centering astrand or conductor in said mold chamber to care for the symmetricarrangement of a compound on such strand or conductor in passing throughthe device; a further object being to provide means for independently or001- lectively adjusting the jaw members with respect to each other tocontrol and regulate the size of the mold chamber formed between theinner ends of said jaw members; and with these and other objects inview, the invention consists in a device of the class and for thepurpose specified, which is simple in construction, eflicient in use,and which is constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate partsof my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the method of applying acoating to an electric conductor with one of my improved devices.

Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 1with the conductor detached.

Fig. 3 is a face view of the device shown in Fig. 2 with part of theconstruction broken away and in section.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of a number of jaw members which Iemploy.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing only a part of theconstruction and showing a modification.

Fig. 6 is a face view of the modified structure shown in Fig. 5 withpart of the structure broken away; and,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 77 of Fig.1.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 oi the drawing, I providea centering and mold device 10 consisting of a body portion 11 having alarge central opening 11a and a peripheral wall 12, in which isrotatably mounted a beveled pinion 13, the outer end of which has asocket 1311 by means of which a key may be inserted for rotating thepinion to rotate a disk 14 arranged on one side of the body 11, the diskhaving beveled teeth 14a engaged by the pinion 13.

On one face of the disk 14 is a continuous spiral thread 15 with whichthe teeth 16 on the inner ends of a plurality of jaw members 17 operateto provide for radial adjustment of the jaws in the body 10 or in aplate 18 arranged outwardly of the disk 14. The plate 18 has radialslots 18a in which the jaws operate and the inner faces of said slotsare provided with key ways 1819 operating in grooves 17a on oppositesides of the jaws 17 to key said jaws against displacement from the body11.

In the construction shown, three of the jaw members 17 are employed, andeach of these jaws is of identical construction so that the briefdescription of one jaw will apply to the others. Adjacent the outerfaces of the jaws are inwardly projecting tongue portions 19 and 20, onetongue 19 being employed, and two tongues 20, the tongues 20 beingspaced apart to form a recess 21 receiving the tongue 19 of an adjacentjaw. The inner ends of these tongues have curved or arc-shaped surfaces23 which form between all of the jaws a mold chamber or passage 23awhich is circular in cross sectional form as is indicated in Fig. 3 ofthe drawing. Between the tongues 19 and 20 is a radial split 24 in whichis supported a fin or blade 25 which extends at opposite sides of thetongues, and the inner ends of which project into the mold chamber oraperture formed between said jaws to provide centering fingers or finsfor centering a strand or electric conductor in the mold chamber 23a.

With the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, it willbe understood that by rotating the pinion 13, which in turn rotates thedisk 14, the jaws 17 may be adjusted inwardly and outwardly to decreaseor increase the size of the mold chamber or passage 23a to adapt thedevice to strands or conductors of different sizes. In the differentadjustments of the jaw members, the fins or blades 25 will at all timesproject into the resultant mold chamber.

In Fig. l of the drawing, I have diagrammatically illustrated one use ofthe device, and in said figure 26 represents an electric wire having arubber coating 27, and fibrous jacket 28 which is preferably treatedwith a water and fireproof saturant or compound 29, and prior to passinginto and through the centering and mold device 10, a coating 30 of asuitable compound is applied to the wire. In passing through the device10, circumferentially arranged deposits 30a of the compound are arrangedon the conductor, and these deposits will be of even thicknesscircumferentially of the conductor and between the deposits will beformed longitudinal recesses or channels 30b formed by the fins orblades 25. These recesses may be left upon the conductor and theconductor further treated with another compound which would enter therecesses 30%) to aid in keying or retaining the outer compound inconnection with the compound 30 in accordance with the teachings in myprior application filed May 3, 1932, and bearing Serial Number 608,933.

However, in some instances where the coating 30 constitutes a finalcoating, it may be passed through an ironing or slushing die or device31 which will mold or slush the deposits 3011 into the recesses 30!) andform a continuous coating of even thickness circumferentially of theconductor as at 300.

In using the coating 30, it will be understood that this coating may beof any desired material depending upon the results which are required inthe finished product, and in some uses, this compound may be a coloredcompound applied to an insulated electric conductor previously treatedwith saturants or other compounds, and with my improved device excellentresults are obtained in applying light colored compounds 30 over blacksaturants in accordance with the teachings of my prior Patent Number1,887,851, granted November 15, 1932.

In Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, I have shown a slight modification inthe method of operating the jaw members 17, and in this device, I havesubstituted for the pinion 13 and disk 14 independent worms 32 which aresupported in the body 33 of the device and arranged radially thereofbeneath the jaws 17, the worms being keyed against longitudinal movementby pins 34: operating in annular grooves 35 formed in the worms, and theworms are rotated by keys inserted in angular sockets 36 in the outerends thereof.

With this construction, the worms 32 engage the teeth 16 of the jaws l7and provide the radial adjustment of the jaws in the member 33. In theconstruction shown, four of the jaws 17 are employed, as will beapparent on a consideration of Fig. 6 of the drawing, and it will beunderstood that each jaw has an independent worm 32 for its adjustment,and the four jaws 1'7 will form a mold passage or aperture 23a at theinner ends thereof, and four of the fins or blades 25 will extend intothis aperture to center the strand or conductor therein.

The construction shown and described herein constitutes an improvementon the structure shown and described in a companion application filed byme December 5, 1932, and bearing Serial Number 645,736. The outstandingfeature of the present invention over the structural features disclosedin said earlier application resides in providing jaw members which arerelatively adjustable with respect to each other to provide means foradjusting the size of the mold passage or chamber, thus adapting onedevice for use in connection with strands or conductors of varioussizes, the limits of which are controlled solely by the size of the jawsand the number of jaws employed. At this time, it will be understoodthat any number of jaw members may be employed, and these jaw membersmay be increased and decreased in width and at the same time, thecontour of the inner surfaces of the jaw members which mold the moldchamber may vary to suit strands or conductors of various crosssectional contour.

It will be noted that the jaw members 25 project a material distancebeyond the tongues 19 and 20 of the jaw members to provide long bearingsurfaces which in addition to centering the strand or conductor in itspassage through the mold chamber 23 also serves to straighten the strandor conductor and to remove any kinks that may be formed therein. Thisinsures accurate formation of the coatings on the strands or conductors,as will be apparent.

It will be understood that while I have shown certain details ofconstruction for adjustably mounting the jaw members, I am notnecessarily limited to these details, and various other changes in andmodifications of the construction herein shown and described may be madewithin the scope of the appended claims without departing from thespirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A mold device of the class described for applying coatings toelongated strands, said device comprising a jaw supporting member, threeor more jaw members movable toward and from each other in said member,the inner surfaces of the jaw members being of predetermined contour,said jaw members having intermeshing portions to form in the adjustmentof said jaw members with respect to each other a continuous annular moldchamber of predetermined size and contour.

2. A mold device of the class described for applying coatings toelongated strands, said device comprising a jaw supporting member, threeor more jaw members movable toward and from each other in said member,the inner surfaces of the jaw members being of predetermined contour,said jaw members having intermeshing portions to form in the adjustmentof said jaw members with respect to each other, a continuous annularmold chamber of predetermined size and contour, said jaw membersslidably engaging said member, and means for adjusting said jaw membersin said member.

3. A mold device of the class described for applying coatings toelongated strands, said device comprisinga jaw supporting member, threeor more jaw members movable toward and from each other in said member,the inner surfaces of the jaw members being of predetermined contour,said jaw members having intermeshing portions to form in the adjustmentof said jaw members with respect to each other a continuous annular moldchamber of predetermined size and contour,

said jaw members slidably engaging said member,

means for adjusting said jaw members in said member, and said meansinvolving an element engaging all of said jaw members to providecollective and uniform adjustment of said jaw members toward each other.

4. A mold device of the class described for applying coatings toelongated strands, said device comprising a jaw supporting member, jawmembers movable toward and from each other in said member, the innersurfaces of the jaw members being of predetermined contour, said jawmembers having intermeshing portions to form in the adjustment of saidjaw members with respect to each other a continuous annular mold chamberof predetermined size and contour, and blades supported on the innerends of said jaw members and protruding into the mold chamber formedthereby to form centering devices for centering a strand in its passagethrough said mold chamberv 5. A mold device of the class described forapplying coatings to elongated strands, said device comprising a jawsupporting member jaw members movable toward and from each other in saidmember, the inner surfaces of the jaw members being of predeterminedcontour, said jaw members having intermeshing portions to form in theadjustment of said jaw members with respect to each other a continuousannular mold chamber of predetermined size and contour, blades supportedon the inner ends of said jaw members and protruding into the moldchamber formed thereby to form centering devices for centering a strandin its passage through said mold chamber, said blades extending atopposite sides of the jaw members to form long guiding surfaces forstraightening the strand in its passage through said mold chamber.

6. A mold device of the class described for applying coatings to elonated strands, said device comprising a jaw supporting member jaw membersmovable toward and from each other in said member, the inner surfaces ofthe jaw members being of predetermined contour, said jaw members havingintermeshing portions to form in the adjustment of said jaw members withrespect to each other a continuous annular mold chamber of *redeterminedsize and contour, blades supported on the inner ends of said jaw membersand protruding into the mold chamber formed thereby to form centeringdevices for centering a strand in its passage through said mold chamber,said blades extending at opposite sides of the jaw members to form longguiding surfaces for straightening the strand in its passage throughsaid mold chamber, said jaw members slidably engaging said member, andmeans for adjusting said jaw members in said member.

7. A mold device of the class described for applying coatings toelongated strands, said device comprising a jaw supporting member jawmembers movable toward and from each other in said member, the innersurfaces of the jaw members being of predetermined contour, said jawmembers having intermeshing portions to form in the adjustment or" saidjaw members with respect to each other a continuous annular mold chamberof predetermined size and contour, blades supported on the inner ends ofsaid jaw members and protruding into the mold chamber formed thereby toform centering devices for centering a strand in its passage throughsaid mold chamber, said blades extending at opposite sides of the jawmembers to form long guiding surfaces for straightening the strand inits passage through said mold chamber, said jaw members slidablyengaging said member, means for adjusting said jaw members in saidmember, and said means involving an element engaging all of said jawmembers to provide collective and uniform adjustment of said jaw memberstoward each other.

8. A device for applying coatings to elongated .strands to form an evenand symmetric coating on the strand, said device comprising a bodyportion having a large central opening, jaw members mounted to moveradially of said body portion and the inner ends of which extend intosaid opening, the inner ends of said jaw members having tongue andgroove connections to form between said jaw members, an annular moldchamber of predetermined size and contour, means in said body foradjusting said jaw members toward and from each other, means for keyingsaid jaw members in their adjustable movement, said jaw adjusting meansinvolving a single member, the operation of which collectively moves allof said jaw members, and means on the inner ends of said jaw membersprojecting into the mold chamber formed therebetween to providecentering means for a strand passed through said mold chamber.

9. A device for applying coatings to elongated strands to form an evenand symmetric coating on the strand, said device comprising a bodyportion having a large central opening, jaw members mounted to moveradially of said body portion and the inner ends of which extend intosaid opening, the inner ends of said jaw members having tongue andgroove connections to form between said jaw members, an annular moldchamber of predetermined size and con-- tour, and centering elements onthe inner ends of said jaw members and extending into the mold chamberformed thereby for centering a strand passed through said mold chamber.

10. A device for applying coatings to elongated strands to form an evenand symmetric coating on the strand, said device comprising a bodyportion having a large central opening, jaw members mounted to moveradially of said body portion and the inner ends of which extend intosaid opening, the inner ends of said jaw members having tongue andgroove connections to form between said jaw members, an annular moldchamber of predetermined size and contour, centering elements on theinner ends of said jaw members and extending into the mold chamberformed thereby for centering a strand passed through said mold chamber,and said elements being in the form of elongated plates extending atopposite sides of said jaw members forming long bearing portions forstraightening the strand in its passage through the mold chamber.

.11. In the art of coating electric conductors, a mold device into andthrough which a conductor coated with a compound is adapted to pass togage the thickness of the compound applied to the conductor, meansinvolving a plurality of forming elements adjustable toward and from theconductor to adjustably control the thickness of the compound coatingwith respect to conductors of different sizes, and means for centeringthe conductor in its passage through said device.

12. A device for applying coatings to elongated strands to form an evenand symmetric coating on the strand, said device comprising a bodyportion having a large central opening through which the strand to becoated is adapted to pass, jaw members mounted to move radially of saidbody portion and the inner ends or" which have concave, roundedsurfaces, which extend into said opening, the inner end of each jawmember intermeshing with adjacent jaw members within said opening toform in the radial movement of said jaw members continuous circularopenings of difierent sizes between the concaved inner surfaces thereofto adapt said jaw members to strands of different sizes.

13. A device for applying coatings to elongated strands to form an evenand symmetric coating on the strand, said device comprising a bodyportion having a large central opening through which the strand to becoated is adapted to pass, jaw members mounted to move radially of saidbody portion and the inner ends of which have concave, rounded surfaces,which extend into said opening, the inner end of each jaw memberintermeshing with adjacent jaw members within said opening to form inthe radial movement of said jaw members continuous circular openings ofdifferent sizes between the concaved inner surfaces thereof to adaptsaid jaw members to strands of different sizes, and means in said bodyportion for adjusting said jaw members toward and from each other.

14. A device for applying coatings to elongated strands to form an evenand symmethric coating on the strand, said device comprising a bodyportion having a large central opening through which the strand to becoated is adapted to pass, jaw members mounted to move radially of saidbody portion and the inner ends of which have concave, rounded suriaces,which extend into said opening, the inner end of each jaw memberintermeshing with adjacent jaw members within said opening to form inthe radial movement of said jaw members continuous circular openings ofdifferent sizes between the concaved inner surfaces thereof to adaptsaid jaw members to strands of different sizes, means in said bodyportion for adjusting said jaw members toward and from each other, meansfor keying the jaw members in 15. A device for applying coatings toelongated strands to form an even and symmetric coating on the strand,said device comprising a body portion having a large central openingthrough which the strand to be coated is adapted to pass, jaw

members mounted to move radially of said body portion and the inner endsof which have concave, rounded surfaces which extend into said opening,the inner end of each jaw member intermeshing with adjacent jaw memberswithin said opening to form in the radial movement of said jaw memberscontinuous circular openings of different sizes between the concavedinner surfaces thereof to adapt said jaw members to strands of differentsizes, and means centrally of each jaw member and projecting into thecircular opening formed by said jaw members for engaging and centeringthe strand in its passage therethrough.

16. In the art of coating electric conductors, a mold device into andthrough which a conductor coated with a compound is adapted to pass toANTHONY P. HINSKY.

